Method of making reenforced bodies having projecting anchoring elements



NOV. 10, 1931. FlSHER 1,831,237

MAKING RE ENFORCED BODIES HAVING METHOD OF PROJECTING ANCHORING ELEMENTS Filed Feb. 26, 1950 B awn/17 W Patented Nov. 10, I931 UNITED STATES ELBER'I E. FISHER, OF.

AT NTj F C ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TOTHE V'ITBOLITE COMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA f I METHOD OF MAKING REEIIFOBCED BODIES HAVING PROJEC'II NG ANCHORING ELEMENTS i Application filed February 26, 1930; Serial No. 431,392.

i The present invention has for its object to produce in a simple'manner'panel's and other'bodies of opaque vitreous material, ree'nforced with metal and provided with protruding anchoring wires or other elements of any desired'length.

- In carrying out my invention 1 press a mass of [molten vitreous material upon a metal reenforcing" structure having the an chorin elements projecting from aface thereo while the reenforcing structure is in' a mold whose mold: cavity determines the shape of thefinished product and which is adaptedto accommodate the anchoring ele; ments in such-a manner that they willproject fromthel finished body. By employing af mold any desired shape and surface configuration may be obtained, so that I am able tomake notonly fiat panels but many other useful devices that will be strong and capabl'e of being firmly anchored to a support.

The various; features of novelty wher'eby' myinvention is characterized will hereinaf ter be pointed out with particularity in the claimsjbut, for a full understanding of my invention and of its'objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein v Figure 1 is a perspective view. of a fragment of a fiat panel made according to the present invention; Fig. 2' is a vertical section through a mold having therein the metal reenforcing and anchoring structure preparatory to pouring in the molten vitreous material; Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2, illustrating the final step in the molding operation;'Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing a smaller fragment and the sheathing of vitreous material that may be formed in'the molding process upon the individual anchors; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, showing amodified form of mold andjmeans' for dc forming a metal reenforcing fabric in the latter to produce an anchoring element thereon; and Fig. 6 isa view similar to Fig. 5, showing the anchor forming means at 'the end of its downward stroke.

Referringto Figs. '2 and f the drawings,

1 represents a mold having a mold cavity 2 open'atthe top. Opening downwardly from the bottom of the mold cavity aredeep auxiliarycavit'ies 3 of comparatively small crosssectional area. -Having'the-1nold, the first step in forming themolded product is to lay intothe mold, so that it will rest at the bottomo,f the cavity, the metal reenforcing structure having-anchor elements depending into the auxiliary cavities. In the arrangement shown, the reenforcing structureis a simple sheet 4 of expanded metal; the anchors being wires 5 'bent into U shape and each extending down into one ofthe "auxiliary cavities and. having one of the stran'dsof-the reenforcing structure lying in the closed end.

' A mass of molten vitreous material is then deposited in the mold cavity; the broken line A in Fig. 2 indicating roughly the'to'p of the mass when it is first deposited. The top of the mold,iin'the form of a plunger or platen slidably fitting into the mold cavity, is then forced downupon the molten massso as to press the vitreousmater'ial through the interstices in thereenforcing structure and to a greater or lesser extent into the small auxiliary cavities. The under face of the plunger or platen is shaped to givefthe desired contour to the upper face of the molded product. When this product is to be'a simple flat panel, as shown, the under face of the plunger or platen will be flat. In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the condition'which exists at the moment the plunger or platen, indicated at .6, has reached the lower end of its stroke, having pressed the vitreousmaterial through the openings in thereenforcing structure and given to thevitreous material the shape of a flat panel 7. After the molded body has casting drops out, and the anchors, with their more or less complete sheathings 8 of vitreous material project upwardly from the panel, as indicated in Fig. 4. The vitreous material that may be on the projecting anchors in the form of sheathings may readily be removed by tapping with a hammer or other hard object, leaving the anchors in the condition shown in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that the auxiliary cavities in the mold may be made of any desired depth,

so that the finished panel or other object may have thereon wiresor other anchor elements projecting several inches therefrom.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a modification in which the mold 8 has a cavity 9 similar to the cavity 2, but has short auxiliary cavities 10 extending down from the 7 bottom of the man cavity. A press or plunger. device 11 is adapted to move down into the mold cavity, and it has on its under side a projection 12 corresponding to each auxiliary cavity in the mold. When the member 11 is forced down into the mold cavity while the latter contains a metal reenforcing fabric 13, the projections 12 deform the fabric, as indicated in Fig. 6,-to produce open-work bosses or projections 14 thereon. After the reenforcing fabric has been; deformed to produce thereon the bosses or projections that will serve as anchors, theprocess of forming the completed product is carried out in the same manner as in the caseof the mold shown in Figs. 2 and? WVhile I'have illustrated and described with particularity the best mode now known to me for carrying out my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the details thus illus-,

the anchoring elements protruding from the vitreous material.

2. The method of forming a reenforced vitreous body having anchoring elements projecting from a face, which comprises the production of an assembly consisting of a fiat horizontal open-work metal reenforcing sheet having anchoring elements depending therefrom and a support underlying the sheet and having openings to receive said anchoring elements, pouring 5 molten vitreous material upon the..sheet,-and pressing the molten mass down through the interstices in the sheet.

4. The method ofproducing a reenforced vitreous body having anchoring elements projecting from a face, which consists in providing a mold having deep cavities of small crosssectional area extending downward from the bottom of the mold cavity, associating with the mold a reenforcing sheet of open-Work metal laid in the bottom of the mold and having long anchor elements depending into said deep cavities, pouring molten vitreous materiali'nto the mold, and pressing'the molten mass through the opening in the reenforcing sheet and into conformity with the mol cavity.

5. The method of producing a'reenfor'ced vitreous body having individualanchoring elements distributed over the length and breadth and projecting from one face of such body, which consists in providing amoul'd having a flat bottom and deep cavities of small cross" sectional area extending down:

ward from the bottom of the mould cavity and distributed across the length and breadth of the mould, laying on the bottom of the mould a sheet of expanded metal having long anchor elements depending into said deep cavities, pouring vitreous material'into'the mould, and pressing the molten metal. through the openings in the 'sheetof expanded metal into conformity with the mould, cavity and into said deep cavities.

6. The method of forming a reenforced vitreous body having anchoring elements plrojectingfrom a face which consists in proc ucing a flat sheet of expanded metal having numerous f individual anchoring elements projecting from one side and distributed across the length and breadtlithereof, laying said sheet upon a fiat support having small deep cavities into which said anchoring elements project while said sheet is lying flat on the support, pouring a batch of vitreous material upon said sheet, and pressing said molten metal down through the interstices insaid sheet and at least part way into said cavities.

7'. The method of forming a, reenforced vitreous body having: anchoring elements projecting from a facewhich consists in producing a flat sheet of expanded metal having numerous individual anchoring elements projecting from one side and distributed across the length and breadth thereof, laying said sheet upon afiat support having small deep cavities into which said anchoring elements project while said sheet is lying flat on the support, pouring a batch of vitreous material upon said sheet, pressing said molten metal down through the interstices in said sheet and at least part way into said cavities, and removing the cast body from the support and breaking away the vitreous material surrounding the anchoring elements.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

ELBERT E. FISHER. 

